Letters to the editor

In reference to the problem of BART riders who take excess space on trains, I must say that ticketing a homeless person who is asleep on a train with all their belongings next to them seems a rather poorly thought out solution to the problem.

Herb Steinhardt, Alamo

Sanders’ movement

The longer-term benefit of Sen. Bernie Sanders campaign for president is that win or lose, Sanders has revived a political dialogue that private and corporate concentrations of wealth had hoped they had erased from our minds forever. The corporate media, or the state propaganda ministry, has repeatedly ignored Sanders while featuring complacently wealth-friendly candidates from either party. Despite this attempt to steer public opinion, Sanders continues to win primaries and caucuses. Win or lose, Sanders can continue to do working Americans a great service by providing a focal point for a political movement that restores America to greatness by restoring a prosperous middle class with a future rather then the servant class the 1 percent would prefer we become.

Riley VanDyke, San Francisco

Nuclear option

Regarding “Uneasy encounter with history” (Editorial, April 14) with Secretary of State John Kerry’s laying a wreath at Hiroshima: Let’s put Hiroshima and Nagasaki in perspective. The Japanese refused to end the war after Hiroshima, necessitating the Nagasaki bombing. Had the U.S. not used atomic bombs and attempted an invasion of the Japanese home islands, casualties on both sides would have far exceeded Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Has the world forgotten the inhumane treatment the Japanese inflicted on civilians at Nanking, the Bataan death march and places like Wake Island?

Lyle La Faver, Alameda

No improvement

The mess the MTA has made of the Mission Street corridor should come as no surprise. Look at their “improvement” on Church at 30th Street: Parking spaces for the nearby small shops eliminated for a raised boarding platform I have seen used only by able-bodied persons. A couple of blocks away, also on both lines that use the raised platform, elders from the 30th Street Senior Center regularly struggle to board and exit from the sidewalk. Mission Street sidewalks are a lot emptier, I hear. Of course, if you are getting groceries, or have to take two or three children along anywhere, or go out for dinner on a chilly night, I’m sure you appreciate that, thanks to the MTA, people can now zip past your neighborhood in two minutes less.

Miriam Mueller, San Francisco

Azzi’s profile

Regarding “Azzi's honesty, courage inspire” (April 15): Many thanks to Chronicle writer Ann Killion who, in profiling USF women’s basketball coach Jennifer Azzi’s “coming out” and recent same-sex marriage reminds all Bay Area residents how fortunate we are to live in a place that practices tolerance and inclusion. Contrast this attitude with many Bible Belt states that seek to limit LGBT rights through recent “gender bathroom” laws and “religious freedom” legislation. As Azzi keenly noted of people living in such intolerant places: “you might have to unwind some of what you've been taught.”

Julian Grant, Pacifica

Self-deportation

Regarding “Call for a public advocate in S.F.” (Open Forum, April 14): Thanks to Tom Ammiano for his recommendation for an office of public advocate. Our government is becoming increasingly opaque and arrogant, leaving residents frustrated and distrustful of the very people who are supposed to be serving the public. Parking, traffic and street/sidewalk issues are perhaps the most visible nexus of the disconnect between government and the governed. Parking fees and violations are exorbitant and bear no relationship to the stated goals of reducing traffic and increasing availability of parking. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, SFpark and 311 websites provide lots of bells and whistles, but no meaningful or effective means of contacting someone with authority to solve a problem. Bicycle lanes are installed with complete disregard as to their effect on local businesses and those who must use four-wheeled vehicles to provide the goods and services that we all rely on. Despite claims to the contrary made by special interest groups, many bicycle lanes are virtually unused, while the adjacent automobile lanes become increasingly clogged. Bicyclists continue to reap the benefits of their advocacy while paying for none of it through the normal licensing and permit process that everyone else is subject to. Towing vehicles has morphed into a blood sport for SFMTA and Auto Return. Homeless encampments are the urban fusion of Whac-A-Mole and “Where’s Waldo?” Police sightings are still rare. Each of these topics makes me feel like an unwelcome visitor to the city I have called home for over 40 years. Increasingly, casual conversations among friends turns into a discussion about exit strategies. Is this what is meant by “self-deportation”?